


Declare your love evermore

by fiendlyghost



Series: Pragma [1]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Also cats, Angst??, Cute cat, Drinking, Elliot is so sweet, M/M, but he knows his limits, caustic has a drinking problem, the others Will be here soon, there may be smut that follows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27105832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiendlyghost/pseuds/fiendlyghost
Summary: Caustic has been getting suspicious gifts, but when one gift crosses a line, he has to step in
Relationships: Caustic | Alexander Nox/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Series: Pragma [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981291
Kudos: 28





	Declare your love evermore

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! He we are again for the boys, this is a prequel of ‘Your wounds in my hands feel like beginnings’ Really love doing this series

It started small. Alexander didn’t even notice at first. He first noticed when he went into his lab on one of the rare off days they didn't have a match. His lab wasn't very large, it didn't need to be. What it lacked in size, it made up for in equipment. The gamerunners spared no expense, and for that he was greatful.

He trudged through the door after eating a very bland breakfast, and went to the coat rack where he kept his lab coats. In the pocket of the coat was a bright red rose. He picked it up and spun it gently, examining it. It hadn’t started to decay, so it had been put here recently. Someone had put extra care into this, pulling off all the thorns that usually would be along the stem. 

He didn't leave his lab locked, there was no point. Very few legends actually ever came in here, the very few that did, came to see him. Ergo, no one would be in here without him. He racked his mind for an explanation. Roses were rare in the first place. No one really grew flowers like this anymore. The only people who might were Bloodhound or Giblatar. Very few people knew they even did that anyway. Alexander only knew because every once in awhile he would ask to borrow a thing or two from their garden for some tests.

His attention was focused on the rose, until the door to his lab was opened and Ms. Paquette walked through the door. He had all but forgotten that they had planned to look into some of the logistics of The Ring today. He greeted her kindly, and the rose was all but forgotten.

\---------------------  
It was when a box was left in front of the door to his room, that he had to draw the line.

Little things here and there was ok. Having an admirer brought some excitement to the gloom of his life. He was always on his toes never knowing what could pop up next. His admirer has also gotten very good as well, getting to places he didn't think people had access to. 

But when he opened the box at his door, a smirk trying to break free of his neutral face, he almost choked on his own spit. In the box was a kitten, curled up sleeping. The kitten would easily fit inside Caustic's palm. It was a cinnamon color, with its paws being white, they almost looked like small socks. 

The kitten must have been awakened with the sudden lifting of the lid on the box, blinding them with the sudden influx of light. It stretched out of its corner, and lifted its head letting out a huge yawn. It was at that moment that Alexander was hooked. He told himself that he would get one of the other legends to take care of it, or maybe even a staff member that stayed in the same base that the legends stayed. But deep down, he had no intentions of doing any of those things. 

He picked up the box gently, gazing down at the small creature fondly, until the hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. After years of fighting in an all out death arena, your body knows when something is off, and right now, he knew that someone was staring at him. 

Caustics head, whipped to the side, looking down the hall. All he caught a glimpse of was a flash of yellow and black. It may not seem like much, but it gave him a starting point.  
\---------------------

To an observer, it must have seemed Alexander Nox had put that weird interaction behind him. No one knew of the cat he kept in his quarters, nor would they have cared either way. The legends' personal lives mostly stayed to themselves. But there were a few that just didn't know when to keep to themselves and keep their noses out of things. 

A big one that stuck out to him was Elliot Witt, aka mirage. He was a favorite for his skill and charisma. But God, did he grate on Caustic's nerves from time to time. He was a great asset to have in the ring, but other other than that Alexander couldn't stand to be around the man. 

He told himself it was because he was noisy and not the brightest, but honestly he knew it was because Elliot was everything he was not. Young, Popular, and had a bright future ahead of him. Caustic was a man heading into his late forties soon, and he knew he wasn't the most liked legend. He was known for being too violent, and heaven forbid ‘evil’. 

He knew that Elliot was probably the least likely person to be his admirer. So him being the scientist he was, he was going to start at the bottom and go from there. 

Finding Elliot wasn't exactly difficult, he was usually in his bar, and if not there, you could just follow the loud noises and the ruckus of laughter. Mirage was one of the main reasons his lab was sound proof. Towards the evening hours of the day, the trickster was usually in his bar, serving drinks to the other legends.

It wasn’t very hard to catch the legends attention. He walked into the bar in his casual clothes, which consisted of a black button up and a nice pair of jeans. He was taught to dress like he wanted to be perceived. He usually never strayed from his usually routine, going to his lab and maybe stopping by the community cafeteria. They had very nice sandwiches on wednesdays.

So to say he caught the legends attention when he walked in, would be a slight understatement. Everyone's eyes widened and basically bulged out of their heads. Gibraltars straw hung half haphazardly from his mouth. Ajay che openly gawked, mouth parted wide. 

Caustic felt like a deer in the headlights, and cleared his throat into his fist, trying to break the tension. No one moved, and he was about to turn around and walk straight out, until Pathfinder's voice echoed throughout the room. “Hi friend! We don't usually see you here. It's very surprising.” That seemed to break everyone out of their frozen state. Leave it to the friendly robot. 

Alexander broke out of his frozen trance, and nodded his head slightly. He briefly thought about trying to smile, but dismissed that thought almost as soon as it appeared. He wasn’t the type of person to smile, so immediately the other legends would know something was amiss. They wouldn’t be necessarily wrong, but that doesn't mean that he wants them to put their nose into places they didn't belong.

To say that Elliot looked nervous, would be the understatement of the century. He looked like he would rather be anywhere but behind the counter with cocktails in hand. Alex also noticed that his grip on the glasses seemed extremely tight, his fingertips were turning white.

Caustic strolled up to the bar, and sat down on a bright red cushioned bar stool. It groaned haphazardly under his weight, and he frowned slightly. None of the other legends have said a word since he arrived, and he could feel sweat forming on the back of his neck. 

The only reason that the silence wasn’t prolonged was that Elliot had mercy on him and launched into a thrilling tale about the game earlier this week. Even though every legend had been there and experienced basically the same experiences, they were all entranced by the tale the Trickster was spinning. He just had that power with his words, when he spoke, everyone was drawn to listen. 

That ‘everyone’ consisted of Alexander as well. Elliot’s squad had won that game, so his tales were extra extravagant. His joyous story about victory, convinced the other legends to join in as well. When Bangalore was recounting the story of her victory over Revenant, Mirage slid over to him, and asked for his drink order. Caustic thought for a second and landed on just simple whisky. He's more of a red wine kinda guy, but he's feeling experimental.

As the hours snailed by, Alexander nursed his drink slowly, he didn't want to get drunk, he didn't even want to get tipsy, but the light buzz was welcoming. Slowly the other legends filtered out one by one. As the people in the bar dwindled out slowly, Elliot seemed to get more and more uneasy. 

Bangalore was the last Legend to filter out for the night, as she left, she threw a concerned look over her shoulder towards Elliot, he just shrugged his shoulders and gave a weak smile towards the woman. Caustic understood her concern. He rarely came here, and even less rarely actually stayed after everyone left. He wasn’t known as the nicest legend. Her concern was for not though, he had no intentions of doing anything unsavory. 

He let Elliot squirm with anxiety a bit more, before he decided to cut the boy a break. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. I just kept getting sidetracked.” A half lie. Mirages face contorted into one of confusion and then one of pure horror. Bingo. “I uh I have no idea what you're referring to.” Elliot let out an awkward chuckle. God he was an awful liar. Alexander put his hands up in mock defense. He just had to keep his cool for a little longer. 

“I’m not saying you did anything Elliot. I just came here to ask questions.” Caustic kept his voice calm and collected, but on the inside he was smirking. He never actually thought that Elliot was the courting type. Now that he thought about it, he could see all the signs. 

\----------------------

Some days Caustic got into a foul mood, and so late at night after he knew everyone had gone for the bar, he would sneak in and make himself a small concoction to drown the troubles away. One night while he was way over tipsy, Elliot found him. He didn’t make fun of him like most of the other legends would. 

Mirage sat calmly with him in a booth and nursed a soda, while Caustic knocked back shots. He didn’t ask why he was upset, and he didn’t ask him to slow down. Alexander was a man in his forties with lots of world experience under his belt. He knew his limits when it came to drinking.

When the burning down his throat felt too much, he pushed his shot glass away, and Elliot picked it up and put it away for him. Elliot didn’t say anything after that and they sat in comfortable silence. Alexander was the first one to break the silence. “Why are you up so late?” his voice was low and groggy. He felt very old at that moment. Mirage stared into his eyes for what seemed like quite a while before he answered, a smile spreading across his face. 

“No one should drink alone.”

Caustic frowned at that. He didn’t need to be coddled, but he kept his mouth shut. Alexander tried making small talk and asked how his family's business is going. Mirage asked how his experiments are fairing. They kept up like that for probably another hour. Just asking questions back and forth until it was almost four in the morning. Caustic noticed the time, and they decided to head to their respective apartments. 

\------------------

It all made sense now. Or at least half of it did. Mirage knew he liked cats because he asked if he was a cat or dog person. It didn’t explain why he did it though. He needed more answers.

“Where did you get the rose from? It looked fresh.”

The blunt question caught the trickster off guard, and without missing a beat he answered, “Makoa let me snag it from him, he was very nice about it.” As soon as the words left Elliots mouth, he realized what he had said. His hand shot up to cover the traitor. Alexander smirked triumphantly and snapped his fingers and pointed at him. “Gotcha.” 

Mirage puffed up like he was going to deny it, but he must have seen something on Caustic's face that made him deflate. “Yeah- uh, you caught me.” Now that caustic thought about it, it twas quite an anticlimactic end. He rarely indulges himself with his detective impulses.

“Don’t you think the cat was a bit much?” Alexander was still kinda peeved about that one. Of course he loved the cat, but leaving a cat at someones door is just plain stupid. That must be why Elliot did it. 

Mirage nodded sadly, “She was so cute I couldn't help it.” his voice went up a couple octaves and ended in a whine. God he was so childish. “Why did you do it? Why all the gifts.” That thought had been running through Alexander's mind the entire night. 

Elliot’s head snapped up as he made eye contact with Alex. “Cuz’ I wanted to see you smile.” He then let his gaze fall back down to the table, “I thought the cat was for sure to do the trick.” He looked very sad all of the sudden. 

Caustic’s brain was at a standstill right now. Elliot gave him gifts because he wanted him to… smile? A jittery feeling erupted in his chest. At first it was an unwelcome feeling, but slowly he began to enjoy it. His mouth spoke before his brain could stop it. 

“Well maybe you will just have to try harder next time.”


End file.
